Scared Stiff (1953)

Fleeing a murder charge, a busboy and a nightclub singer wind up on a spooky Caribbean island inherited by an heiress.

Director:

George Marshall

Writers:

Herbert Baker (screenplay), Walter DeLeon (screenplay)

Stars:

Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Lizabeth Scott

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Dean Martin	...	Larry Todd
Jerry Lewis	...	Myron Mertz
Lizabeth Scott	...	Mary Carroll
Carmen Miranda	...	Carmelita Castinha
George Dolenz	...	Mr. Cortega
Dorothy Malone	...	Rosie
William Ching	...	Tony Warren
Paul Marion	...	Ramon Cariso / Francisco Cariso
Jack Lambert	...	Zombie
Tony Barr	...	Trigger
Leonard Strong	...	Shorty
Henry Brandon	...	Pierre
Hugh Sanders	...	Cop on Pier

Storyline

Nightclub singer Larry Todd breaks off his romance with a beautiful showgirl when he realizes she's the girlfriend of a murderously jealous gangster. While on the run, Larry mistakenly believes he kills one of the mobsters and is helped to escape police by heiress Mary Carol, who smuggles Larry and partner Myron to Cuba. Mary has inherited a haunted castle on an isolated island and, ignoring ominous warnings and threats, decides to take possession. While there, the trio hunt for a hidden treasure and encounter a ghost, a zombie, and a mysterious killer.

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Plot Keywords:

screwball comedy | singer | island | nightclub | zombie | 

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Taglines:

They're funnier than ever on the GIANT PANORAMIC SCREEN With Stereophonic Sound

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Genres:

Comedy | Horror | Musical | Mystery | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 April 1953 (USA)

Also Known As:

Starr vor Angst

Filming Locations:

Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Wallis-Hazen

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Sound Mix:

3 Channel Stereo (Western Electric Recording) (5.0) (L-R)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The previous year Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis had made an uncredited gag appearance in Bing Crosby and Bob Hope's Road to Bali (1952). Hope and Crosby returned the favor with a cameo in this film.

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Goofs

At the club Mary receives a note from Larry that he can't make the date, she writes on (what looks like a show bill) three words (two on top line one on bottom) quickly scrawled but when we see a close up its written very clearly it reads: "Forgive me for running away-"

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Quotes

Myron Mertz: I like it! I like it!

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Connections

Featured in Terror in the Aisles (1984)

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Soundtracks

Enchiladas
(uncredited)
aka "Song of the Enchilada Man"
Written by Mack David and Jerry Livingston
Performed by Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis & Carmen Miranda and chorus

User Reviews

It's worse than horrible because a zombie has no will of his own.

Larry Todd (Dean Martin), and Myron Mertz (Jerry Lewis) run a foul of gangster "Shorty" and are forced to flee the hotel when suspicion of murder falls on Larry. Hooking up with heiress Mary Carroll (Lizabeth Scott) who is sailing for Cuba, the guys find that Cuba is one mysterious place, full of weird goings on and Zombies!

Scared Stiff was Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis' ninth picture, a remake of Paramount's 1940 comedy spooker, The Ghost Breakers that starred Bob Hope and Paulette Goddard, it's also directed by the same man, George Marshall. Though both Lewis and Martin are on record as saying they didn't want to remake The Ghost Breakers since the Hope movie was fine the way it is. The guys were bound to do it by their Paramount contract, and thus producer Hal B. Wallis, rightly assuming that it was viable material for the duo, got the film made.

In the pantheon of Martin/Lewis films, Scared Stiff ranks as one of the better efforts that the guys did. Larks and songs and a Carmen Miranda cameo make up the main body of Scared Stiff. Standard slap-stick to none fans of the intrepid duo, but essential viewing for those that have a kink for such shenanigans. From a ventriloquist dummy skit to Lewis' delightful take on Miranda, and containing an hilarious sequence with Jerry stuck in a trunk, there's enough guffaws to keep the grin on ones face. Fans of the singing side of Deano are however short changed here, and there is no getting away from the fact that Scared Stiff is ultimately a rushed cash in job. So with that in mind newcomers to the pair are advised to possibly give the film a miss and head for the likes of Artists And Models and Hollywood or Bust instead. 7/10